The 51st Seattle International Film Festival wrapped over the weekend with Brittany Shyne’s “Seeds,” Miki Magasiva’s “Tinā,” and James Sweeney’s “Twinless” among the major award winners, as SIFF handed out its 2025 Jury Competition and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards at a ceremony held May 25 at Tagney Jones Hall.

Shyne’s “Seeds” took home the Grand Jury Prize in the festival’s Official Competition, while “Tinā,” a coming-of-age drama from Aotearoa New Zealand, won over audiences to snag the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film.

“Twinless” director James Sweeney was named Best Director by SIFF audiences, while Best Documentary went to Ryan White’s “Come See Me in the Good Light.” French actor Abou Sangaré took Best Performance honors for his role in “Souleymane’s Story,” and Kai Hasson’s “Five Star” earned Best Short Film. Kim A. Snyder’s “The Librarians” received the Lena Sharpe Award, recognizing the female-directed film with the most audience votes.

New this year was a special mention for best performance. Fresh on the heels of his Howl of Fame Award at SXSW, Indy the Dog captured the hearts of SIFF-goers with his lead performance in “Good Boy.” He really did carry the supernatural thriller/horror flick. Good boy, Indy.

Other SIFF award winners included the festival’s juried competitions—spanning Official, Ibero-American, New American Cinema, New Directors, and Documentary categories—spotlighted standout international and independent voices. Eva Libertad’s “Deaf” (Spain) won the Ibero-American Grand Jury Prize, while “The Crowd” by Iranian filmmaker Sahand Kabiri was honored in the New Directors competition.

Courtney Stephens’ “Invention” picked up the Grand Jury Prize in the New American Cinema category, and “Suburban Fury,” from Seattle-based director Robinson Devor, claimed the Documentary Competition’s top honor.

Critics also weighed in, with the Seattle Film Critics Society naming Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby” its top feature of the fest. The film topped ballots from 80 critic members evaluating new release titles screened at SIFF.

The Youth Jury awarded the Wavemaker Prize for Best FutureWave Feature to “Summer’s Camera,” directed by South Korea’s Divine Sung.

For a complete list of award winners visit SIFF.net